SCADA Server or PLC? — TechKnowSurge

About this interactive

A programmable logic controller (PLC) is a key part of many industrial control systems. It sits on the factory floor and delivers the control data to the equipment. It is programmed to carry out a function, then gives the individual devices their instructions, cycle after cycle. A SCADA system sits above the PLCs. It communicates with them, collects their data, and directs their day-to-day tasks, for example by sending a new setpoint or recipe. It is where operators see and supervise the whole process. To sort a card, ask whether the job is direct control of the equipment in front of the controller, or supervising and coordinating many controllers from the center.

What you'll learn

Tell the job of a programmable logic controller (delivering control data to the equipment on the floor, following its program) from the job of the SCADA system (supervising many controllers centrally and directing them)

Aligned to

CompTIA Security+

3.1 Compare and contrast security implications of different architecture models.

Key terms

Programmable Logic Controller: A rugged industrial computer that runs stored instructions to automate machinery and processes on a plant floor, reading its sensors and switching equipment in response; exploiting one can cause physical damage.
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition: An architecture in which a central server and its software gather readings from sensors and field units across a plant, pipeline or region and send commands back to them, used in critical infrastructure, where a security failure can damage physical equipment.
Industrial Control System: A broad category of the computers, networks and field devices that run production lines and critical infrastructure, SCADA and PLCs among them; securing them means protecting physical processes that can tolerate very little downtime.

Topics

Interactive Streak Sort

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